Ukraine pitches for ‘Anzac’ visit by Albanese and Luxon

Ukraine is lobbying Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to make a joint ‘Anzac’ visit to Kyiv in June.

Anthony Albanese with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome. Picture: NewsWire

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Ukraine is lobbying Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to make a joint “Anzac” visit in June to Kyiv.

Ukraine’s top diplomat in Australia said it was hoped the Prime Minister would visit the country immediately before or after his June 15-17 visit to Canada for the G7, which could also be combined with a trip to Washington DC to meet US President Donald Trump.

Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko said Mr Albanese could also make the trip later in the month if he was attending the June 24-25 NATO summit in The Hague.

Mr Myroshnychenko said he was working with New Zealand to see whether Mr Luxon could join Mr Albanese in Ukraine, in recognition of both countries’ support for Kyiv’s war effort.

“The Anzac experience has shaped the modern identities of Australia and New Zealand and their aspirations for sovereignty. Ukraine is waging its own fight for its sovereignty and its future,” he said.

The push comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally invited Mr Albanese to visit his country when they met on the sidelines of Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass this month.

Mr Myroshnychenko said Ukraine hoped Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon would also visit Poland to see first-hand its military preparations to deter Russian aggression.

Mr Albanese pledged ongoing Australian support for Ukraine when he met Mr Zelensky in Rome, and confirmed 49 donated M1A1 tanks were en route to Kyiv.

The federal government is also hoping Kyiv will secure the release of captured Australian man Oscar Jenkins in a prisoner swap deal with Russia.

Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon have expressed a willingness for their nations’ troops to be involved in a “coalition of the willing” peacekeeping force.

The Prime Minister visited Ukraine early in his first term.